working super hard

Halloween China Cabinet, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

So this happened! I can't even begin to describe the state of the dishes that normally live in this cabinet. They've obviously been evicted and are so haphazardly strewn all over my house in different rooms. Jason came home and said, "But didn't we buy this cabinet because we needed storage space?" "YEAH YEAH I KNOW I ALREADY HAD THIS ARGUMENT WITH MYSELF-- I'M NOT HAVING IT AGAIN!!" Hehe. You can take a better look over here.

One of my Pandora stations is so dang perfect. Fiona Apple. Toria Amos. Sarah McLachlan. The Cranberries. Mazzy Star. 90s Heather is satisfied.

I watched the Katy Perry movie on Netflix. I already liked her a fair amount but I really fell in love with her after watching it. I love to see people do well when they've worked hard. People who deserve it. It warms my heart. Don't be fooled-- I get plenty jealous here and there. There's a part of the movie... should I say spoiler alert? I always ruin things. Okay so SPOILER ALERT!!! There's a part where she has to start getting ready for a concert and she's uncontrollably sobbing because her marriage is over. She takes a moment then begins getting ready. On stage, she's crying during a song, and the entire stadium starts crying and chanting that they love her in Spanish. It was very touching. I had to get up and go kiss my sleeping husband because I was just so overcome with emotion.

I've been in a hospital bed, uncontrollably sobbing because I thought I was insane and my marriage was over. It's a tough place to be. It's a tough memory to have. It's still very real if I close my eyes. I wonder when it will go away or how it will age with time but I guess it's good to have around for comparison. I'm blessed. I'm thankful.

In less sappy news, my stuff has been featured around the interwebs lately! In a good way! This is such a big deal to me. It such a personal achievement and reward because I don't know the people who picked my content or wrote about it. I don't even know them from the internet or blogging circuit. I had to double and triple check. Check out my creations featured on The Stir dot com, Today's Mama dot com, Mommy Musings dot com, and Crafts 'n Coffee!

I've been working super hard (baking and blogging and all that other jazz) for two years now but I got super serious about it this last June. Then I got even serious-er this month and maybe I overdid what my body is capable of. I've reached many personal goals lately. It feels so good to make something happen. So it's time for more goals and more hard work :)

carrying the torch for some mysteries

like snowflakes, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

I just figured out my Halloween costume. Can't tell cause you'll copy me. I just might make it a diy article. Who knows. Ideas are just ideas until I actually get moving.

I straightened my hair today to see exactly how long it was getting. Since this never happens, I figured I'd share.

I'm back to a schedule of being awake 30+ hours then sleeping for 3 and then 30 and 3 rinse, repeat. Not on purpose. Not because I'm some kind of fancy doctor with a life. Just my body and pain. It stinks. I'd like to go back on a sleeping aide (I've probably mentioned this a million times already) but I think that's part of what made me go crazy. Twice. So never mind.

In the meantime I'm watching a ton of Netflix. I can't watch scary movies and even the mildly scary ones that I can watch I will only watch during the day and with another person. But my husband is gone during the day. So I compromised and watched a documentary about The Shining, called Room 237.

It's mildly interesting. I always spoil things for everyone so SPOILER ALERT!!-- but they say that Kubrick filmed the fake moon landing and the Shining is his kind of story/confession to that. It's seriously interesting. They also talk a lot about the parallels between the film and themes of genocide against the Jews and the native Americans. I felt kind of cheated for never hearing any of this ever before, especially not in any of the like four college film classes I took (the parallels, not the conspiracy theory stuff).

Having said of all of this, the documentary is also filmed very strangely and some of the people talking take forever to convey their points or findings as if they are still forming opinions in real time. I literally yelled at the TV... "T-t-t-today, Junior!" (Quoting Billy Madison like it's still 1995) And it sounds like parts were filmed using Skype as one guy has to get up to go to another room and quiet his noisy child. Watch the first half for sure but only watch the rest if you've got nothing else to do. There are some gems and pearls worth hearing but you have to fish through the turds to get there. I was disappointed that they never made any mention of the weird scene with a maybe-sex-act between the man and the person in the dog suit. I have spent my entire life (I saw this movie way before I should have) wondering about it and if I don't know by now, I don't think I want to Google and know. I need to keep carrying the torch for some mysteries.

My Halloween cookies are featured on the stir dot com. My week has been made so I'm staying in bed 'til Friday.

a steady hand

Bela Lugosi, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

I'm gearing up to decorate for Halloween this weekend. It required some brainstorming because this is a smaller house with less counter and table space for necessary decor. Compared to our last house, I'm short an entire (and boy was it large) kitchen island and a dining room. I got creative and will share when I'm done so stay tuned.

I did a mini-house tour today to show off spooky stuff in our house that stays up all year long. This picture is from that project. Click here to check it out on diyHeather.com.

The rednecks in the neighborhood are always shooting off fireworks and it drives me up the wall. The dog goes into a full-force frenzy and pees everywhere. I think she is a reincarnated WWII soldier with PTSD. I understand that many dogs are afraid of fireworks-- I'm just saying that in my dog's specific case it's the reincarnation and PTSD that makes the most sense.

I still can't wrap my brain around how they (the Redneckians) can afford to spend so much money on them (the fireworks) regularly. Like how can you afford a mortgage, bills, booze, cigarettes and fireworks on a regular basis? My friend suggested that's what happens when both partners have jobs and my stinkeye still won't subside. (Because I don't work.. get it?) They also just sit out in their garage all night watching a mounted flat screen. You got me! I'm jealous! They're better than me though because they have better stuff to do (like shooting off fireworks) than blog about me to the world wide interwebs.

My husband and I also have an on-going argument that Max from Catfish is gay. I say he is and J disagrees. Either way that man has enviously steady hands and probably carpal tunnel from constantly filming with tiny cameras. I say enviously because I wish I could just take a still shot the first time without it being blurry but my hands are dancing their way into old age.

Unrelated but related: I miss Dance Moms and Snooki lookin' so goooood! Totally serious. I spend half of the week wishing I was skinny and the other half wishing I was pregnant so I can go back to gaining mad weight.

The end!

truly uncultured

Halloween 2013 Cookies, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

So my local library doesn't have In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Not because someone currently has it checked out. They don't have it. But they have 50 Shades of Gray. Imagine the faces I made. I'm still making them. But I guess I don't know who is truly uncultured here-- them for not having it or me for finally going to the library after living here for 11 months. Ugh.

Speaking of disappointment... I'm just as disappointed in American Horror Story Coven as I thought I would be. It's no Murder House. And it certainly isn't Asylum. It's a hot, rushed, mess. I also made the mistake of watching it while eating dinner with J. The first half was gorier than I'd like when eating leftover meatloaf.

We had a lizard in our house yesterday. I'm so baffled about how. Just the other day our neighbors said they kept finding lizards in their house. We were trying to figure out a way to quietly catch it without Bowie noticing but were unsuccessful. She figured it out. RIP Lizard. The picture is pre-Bowie, so he is alive and happy.

I've been keeping up with my Halloween/Fall baking way better than I anticipated. I made ghost cupcakes, yummy streusel muffins, and Halloween sugar cookies (seen above).

Don't cry over spilled Vanilla extract

Don't cry over spilled Vanilla extract, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

Stop me oh ho oh, stop me-- stop me if you think that you've heard this one before.

So much baking. And then writing about baking. And listening to The Smiths and Information Society to keep me sitting and focused. Long hours. The house smells like pumpkin and chocolate. Totally awesome, but I can't even describe the level of chaos and disorder in my kitchen right now. I made cookies, and cupcakes, and then more cookies.

I'm super behind in my shows too. We finally just watched Boardwalk Empire tonight. Which reminds me, my entire life has been spent confusing Daryl Hannah with Patricia Arquette and vice versa-- with no offense to either actress. I'm just an idiot.

Have I mentioned my disappointment with decorations and goodies in the stores for Halloween 2013? No one has anything that I'm super in love with. Target usually delivers but their selection is meh compared to previous years. World Market has some really cute items that are reproductions of vintage Halloween designs. And they have cute Day of the Dead stuff. Other than that, I'm so let down.

I've been compensating by buying Halloween cookie cutters and sprinkles. I'm up to 20-something cutters and 15 bottles of sprinkles. This sounds like madness, but just wait. It will all make sense, gentle viewer. Stay tuned.